


The Envoy

by writingandcoe



Series: The Swindon Files [1]
Category: The Dresden Files - All Media Types, The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher, The Dresden Files Roleplaying Game
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dresden Files Fusion, Dresden Files Style Sidhe, F/M, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 10:48:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13925571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingandcoe/pseuds/writingandcoe
Summary: Dini Richardson was a small-town journalist in Swindon, covering petty crimes and road rage - until she got herself mixed up in the supernatural world and fought a bunch of Red Court vampires. Now, she's investigating more cases...and the supernatural world is taking an interest in her.But when Dini visits the Summer Court to negotiate a minor treaty, she gets more than she bargained for.Set in an alt universe of the Dresden Files, a timeline and an ocean away from Chicago. The positions are canon but the people aren't!





	1. The Summer Court

**Author's Note:**

> These stories were wrapped around a larger Dresden Files RPG game, so there's things going on effectively in the background. This story focuses on one of the characters (mostly) outside the game. I'll add notes in occasionally if there's some background not otherwise explained.

Lydiard Park is, in my admittedly biased opinion, the best in Swindon. It has enough trees to provide shade and comfort, but also enough grass to be open and welcoming. The house itself is gorgeous, and the mix of formal gardens and rolling grass makes for a place that changes every time you walk around it. My favourite spot – well, all right, I have two. It's a toss-up between the Walled Garden and sitting down by the lake, and I always visit both.

I'd come with enough time to briefly visit the Walled Garden, and I was sitting down by the lake, watching the ripples from the fish, when someone stopped behind me. I hadn't heard their footsteps, but I was expecting it, and I've had enough practise with Sidhe now that I don't jump out of my skin when one of them walks up behind me.

"The Lady Rowan invites you to meet with her, Envoy." a faintly accented voice says from behind me.

I stand, raise my chin, and then turn, expecting one of the ridiculously beautiful Sidhe – or possibly a centaur. Either's possible.

But it's a man, dressed in leather-and-silver armour, and with a long sword belted at his hip. He's mortal – or at least he doesn't have the abnormally good looks of the Sidhe. He's got high cheekbones, brown hair cut short enough that it just skims his green eyes, and he's standing there with an air of confidence and...I don't know. Something about him that just seems to lift him up.

I pick my jaw up, swallow, and bow. "And you are, sir?"

He bows to me with far more grace than I managed. I'm beginning to feel very inept. "I am Warren, the Sidhe Knight of Summer. You are Elizabeth Richardson, Envoy of Tony Cornetti."

I incline my head. I sold my first name to the Summer and Winter Courts in exchange for information on a case, but that's all they're going to get. I suppose I should start worrying at some point about what else I can exchange for information. Maybe Everyman's names would work. [Everyman's the policeman on the team. He and Dini hate each other.]

Warren half-turns, and holds out his arm for me to take. As I do, I catch his scent; thunderstorms, the smell of rain and fresh air, the moment of change as the lightning flashes down. It's intoxicating – and then it's gone, and he smells of clover and cut grass.

We walk up the meadow, angling slightly away from the house and towards a patch of trees. And between one step and another, the air shimmers, and the sky changes. We're still in the parkland, but it's different – the sky's wider, the grass is lusher, the trees greener. There are Fae scattered around – I spot two centaurs, and a dryad flits across the path in front of us. There are beautiful Sidhe around, too, watching us as we walk slowly across the parkland.

Up ahead, there's a small grassy hillock, surrounded by a mixture of willows and silver birch. There's a scattering of cushions on it and I can see a few of the Sidhe sitting there, with others standing around them. I'm still looking around curiously when Warren stops, turns to me and gently removes my hand from his arm, and then walks forward a few steps to the base of the hillock.

"My Lady." the Knight says, dropping to one knee, and again managing to make the gesture look incredibly graceful. I'm beginning to doubt if he is human, although I know he has to be if he's the Knight. "The Envoy of Tony Cornetti is here to meet with you." [Tony Cornetti's the head of one of the Swindon mafia groups. Ice cream mafia, by the way. Yeah, we had fun with names :-D]

One of the Sidhe sitting on the cushions stands, and comes towards me with both hands outstretched, smiling. She's absolutely beautiful – long blonde hair that seems to have a tint of green, green eyes, and a long aquiline face that matches her slender figure. Her skin is very pale, and accented by the dark green dress she's wearing. "Elizabeth Dini Richardson, we are pleased to welcome you to the Summer Court. I am the Lady Rowan."

I hold out my own hands and she takes them, smiling at me in pleasure as her long fingers wrap around mine. Then she drops one of my hands and turns, tugging me towards the pile of cushions on the raised hillock. "Please, come and sit, and eat. We abide by the Accords, and you may eat or drink anything here."

The other Sidhe have left at some point during the introductions, and so I settle myself as gracefully as possibly on the cushion that she indicates. Warren has fallen in behind us, and now sits down on the cushion next to me. Rowan collapses gracefully opposite, and a kneeling Sidhe hands me a glass. I glance down at the spread of food on the low table between the cushions, and feel glad I've already eaten. I know that Faeries do abide by the Accords but I still have a healthy distrust of eating anything in their realm, and carefully place the glass I have been given back on the table.

Rowan waves away the offered glass and the Sidhe retreats, leaving us with the gentle wind through the trees above – although I don't doubt that someone is listening nearby. Maybe I'm just paranoid, although I doubt it. I personally think I'm a realist.

Then the Summer Lady leans forward. "So, you have come to discuss Tony Cornetti's desire to become a Signatory of the Accords. What is he offering for our support?"

"Two things. Information," and I feel a smile begin to tug at my lips, "and ice cream."

She blinks. "Ice cream?"

I let the smile spread. "Ever since Mr Cornetti became aware of Faerie and of your love of human food, he has instructed his vendors at Lydiard to leave their unused stock behind at the end of the day. Your Court flock to it."

She smiles, then, and the warmth of it washes over me. "Ah, that is why my little ones are telling me about the treasure they keep finding, but that melts in the sun."

"You do have to eat it fast." I agree. I'd seen the Little People attack the leftovers, and the memory of a tiny winged Faerie speeding through a chocolate Magnum still made me giggle at completely inappropriate times. "Mr Cornetti would be willing to provide a van to you twice a year, although I do not think it would be nearly enough to feed your Court."

She taps a long finger against perfect lips. "Three of his vans, twice a year."

"Accepted, but they only contain a certain amount of stock." I warn. "It's not limitless."

"Understood. I will control the distribution amongst my Court." She leans back. "And the information?"

"Mr Cornetti is offering you access to his information network, in exchange for access to yours. We can offer answers to your questions, in exchange for answers to ours."

"A question for a question." she says thoughtfully.

"If you wish. We would agree to a running debt, on the understanding that neither partner would ever go more than two questions in debt."

"And you would have to answer any question with truth?" Rowan leans forward again. "We are bound to truth, but you, mortal, are not."

"We could choose to not answer," I say carefully, "and your question would not go on the tally sheet. But we would agree to answer any question truthfully, as far as we were able. If we do not know something, or cannot answer, we will tell you."

She considers it. "And we may do the same?"

"Yes. But you must also agree to answer as truthfully as you can, or admit ignorance."

"You must agree not to force us, then, for this bargain. You know that we must answer a question asked thrice."

"If the question is asked as part of the bargain, it will not be asked thrice. You may choose not to answer."

That seems to satisfy her, and she leans back with a nod. "An answer for an answer." She taps her long fingers against her leg – they never seem to be still, even when the rest of her is. "And if one was two questions in debt, and asked a third?"

"They would have to answer one before an answer would be given, or trade information they valued."

She smiles. "Like a name, Elizabeth Dini Richardson."

I incline my head. "Like a name, Lady Rowan of the Summer Court."

"Well, your bargain is acceptable to us. We will support Mr Cornetti in his bid for the Accords, and become his ally for information. When will you send ice cream?"

I shrug. "When do you want it?"

"At a time of celebration, I think. One just after the Winter Solstice, when we have won the Table back. And the other just before the Summer Solstice, when we are at the height of our strength."

I nod. "Agreed."

She smiles at me. "Then we are agreed. You will tell Tony Cornetti?" I nod. "Then our Knight will escort you back to Lydiard." She stands gracefully, and holds out both hands to me as I scramble up. "Thank you for visiting us."

I take her hands and smile back. I like Rowan, despite knowing that she is as devious as all Faeries, and governed by the demands of Summer and her position. "Thank you for your hospitality."

She almost glows. "You are very welcome, Envoy."

Warren steps forward and offers me his arm again with formal politeness. I take it, and we walk in silence back through the ranks of Sidhe. Parkland begins to open up in front of us, and then we have stepped through the shimmer and back into the real world. The lake's spread out below, and I can hear the traffic noise coming from the motorway. Reality's back.

Ice cream and gossip...I suppose there are worse things to build an alliance on.

Warren stops, but lays a hand on mine as I go to remove it from his arm. "May we walk down by the Lake, Miss Richardson?" he says to me seriously. "I would ask for some of your time to speak with you."

"You're very formal." I say, raising a cynical eyebrow. But I do turn to walk with him, and we begin to stroll down to the lake. I can hear the ducks quacking ahead of us, and the faint noise of traffic coming across with the wind. Back in the real world...

"It comes from my upbringing, Miss Richardson."

"I admit I can't place your accent."

He smiles faintly. "I will offer information on myself for an equal exchange, Miss Richardson."

I stop abruptly, which jerks my hand off Warren's arm. "For you, or for the Court?"

He has the grace to look slightly shamed. "My Court is interested in you, Miss Richardson. But the conversation is for me."

I eye him. He may be charming, but I'm cynical. "What do you want to know that your Court doesn't?"

He has to think about it, and then he throws back his head and laughs. It almost cracks him - he suddenly looks younger, and more alive. He's still smiling as he stops laughing, and it lights up his face. "I accept the point, Miss Richardson! May I at least know what you prefer to be called?"

"Dini."

"A shortening of Elizabeth? I am still unfamiliar with English."

"No, it's a nickname. You'll have to exchange something for that story. What's your first language?"

"Shall we sit?" he says easily, and gestures to the lake.

I walk down to my favourite bench, and sit down on it. The Summer Knight sits down next to me, and leans his elbows on the back of the bench, looking out over the lake. I simply wait in silence, enjoying the view and the brief moment of peace. I'll have to go and tell Tony that his offer has been accepted, and then it's back to work while he sorts the details out...

"Germany was my place of birth." Warren says after a while. "So my first language is German. I gained quite a few tongues with my position, but I admit that the informality of English still confuses me."

"Well, I'm from Swindon, so it's my first language."

"Is Cornetti also from Swindon?"

I don't turn my head. "No comment."

"What are you, then, when you are not being an Envoy?" I can hear the smile in his voice. Maybe he's been warned that I won't talk about Cornetti.

"I'm a journalist."

"A writer?"

"An investigator." I correct. "I do a lot of the legwork and then have to write everything up as well."

"Do you write for one of the local papers?"

"The Swindon Advertiser. Big business." I add sardonically, and see his mouth twitch in a smile. At least he has a sense of humour.

"Is it something you enjoy?"

I lean back and look out over the lake, thinking. "Yeah. I love finding stuff out...the writing up, not so much, but recently I've been doing more of the investigation. I like being able to use my brain."

"What was your last case?"

"Read the papers." I'm not telling a member of the Summer Court anything about a murder involving the Winter Court, although he probably knows that we came sniffing round the Lady Marshall Nemain to ask questions. And that I sold my name for information. "So what did you want to know?" I add, suddenly wanting to get to the point.

"Your associate, Zenobia. She...removed an item when she went to visit the Svartalves." the Summer Knight says slowly. "A circle. She refuses to speak to us. Will you be able to tell us what has happened to it?"

I consider it. "And the payment for this?"

"A debt, Miss Richardson. An information debt, in your favour."

I shrug. "I'll ask. It might be that I can't find out either. How do you want me to contact you?"

"A message in Neutral Territory will suffice." I nod and glance at my watch, and the Summer Knight smiles at me. "You should report back to Mr Cornetti?"

"I should." I stand and stretch. "It was nice to meet you."

"It was a pleasure, Miss Richardson." He stands in turn, hesitates, and then says, "I would like to meet you again."

"I am sure that you will in the course of your duties, Sir Knight."

His green eyes meet mine, and then he bows formally to me. "Of course. I shall look forward to it, Envoy."


	2. The Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dini met the Summer Knight on a visit to the Court...and a visit to Lydiard merits a second meeting.
> 
> Set in an alt universe of the Dresden Files, a timeline and an ocean away from Chicago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some days after the previous chapter...some stuff happened in the rest of the world, but nothing of particular importance for here - a few fights, some zombies, the group met a Warden, I think the werewolf bit someone and then threw up, that sort of thing. Dini came out of it mostly intact and slightly pissed off.

I'm at Lydiard Park on a cold Thursday, escaping from a busy office and my overbearing editor. She's usually fine, but we've just had a deadline, and although my articles were in on time the entire office is on the receiving end of Laura's irritation. So I've escaped to the far side of Lydiard lake, and I'm absently throwing leaves at the water. None of them are reaching it, of course, but it's providing some relief from the stress.

I feel rather than hear someone approach from behind me, and look over my shoulder. It's a handsome man with green eyes and brown hair, dressed in jeans and a brown jumper. His name is Warren, and he's the Knight of the Summer Court.

"Miss Richardson," he starts, and bows to me as I hastily stand up. "I hope that I did not startle you-"

I'm half tempted to throw the leaves at him. Why is the Summer Court bothering me today? "What do you want, Sir Knight?"

And then he relaxes, and grins at me. It suddenly makes him look human rather than Faerie. "I am not representing my Court. I simply want to speak to you, Miss Richardson, if you will forgive me."

I shrug and sit down again. "Have a seat."

He sits down and leans his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together. Then he looks over at me, and looks at the leaves in my hands. "You were throwing them, were you not? Is it satisfying?"

"Not really. They don't throw well." I pass one over. "But go for it."

He throws the leaf, and watches it spiral towards the ground. Then he takes another from my hands, and throws that.

Eventually, all the leaves I had picked up are on the ground, and Warren's hand hits my skin. He glances over, and removes it. "I am sorry."

"Bad day?" I ask, swinging my legs up and crossing them on the bench, then tucking my hands into my hoodie. There's only a faint chill in the air, but it speaks of the coming Winter.

"Just frustrating, Miss Richardson. But the leaves helped."

We both lean back on the bench, and sit in silence as we watch the ducks on the lake.

"Last time we met, Miss Richardson," Warren says seriously after a while, "you said that you would tell me how you gained your nickname."

"I'll tell you the story of my nickname if you want, as long as you tell me how you became the Summer Knight." I say lightly.

And his laugh rings out, low and full. I'm liking it. "A story for a story? You strike a hard bargain, but I will accept."

I shuffle my hands further into my pockets and stare at the lake, glad that I've got my jeans and hoodie on. I'm feeling so inadequate compared to this handsome man sitting next to me that anything familiar is helpful. "It was when I was younger. There was a man down the end of the street - Rashid - who hated everyone and everyone hated him, but for some reason a lot of people owed him favours. People joked that no one ever got out without giving him something. Someone volunteered me to take him some money they owed...I don't know why me, but they didn't want to go. And so I went in, delivered the money, and came out without a scratch. Everyone thought it was a miracle, and called me Houdini. I shortened it to Dini, and it's stuck."

Warren's eyes are on me, intent. "So what happened?"

I shrug. "I wasn't afraid of him, and I think he respected that. And flattening him when he tried to grab me probably helped."

"You hit him?"

"No, I knocked his legs out from under him." I correct.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because he tried to grab me?"

"He was your elder. You should not have hurt him."

I raise my eyes to his face. "How old are you?"

Something flickers across his face. "I...do not know."

"I presume you accepted punishment from your elders?" I say, trying to keep the bite out of my tone. "Well, I didn't. I fought back against anyone if they tried to hurt me, and that includes an old man who liked to feel up children."

Warren's eyes widen, and then he hesitates before inclining his head. "I apologise, then, Miss Richardson. I pronounced judgement without understanding the situation."

I shrug again. "Once he'd been knocked over, he realised I wasn't a victim, and was actually polite to me. I used to go there with the other children if they had to see him, just so that he knew he couldn't get them either. I don't think he ever did more than feel, but...I made sure he didn't, as much as I could."

"You are a protector."

I look back out over the lake. "I'm not strong enough to be one." The memories are like a punch to the gut, and I stare at the lake until I can speak again. "So how did you become the Summer Knight?"

He seems to accept the change of subject. "As I grew up, my best friend was what you would term a Changeling. Her father visited her often, and we visited the Summer Court together, so I knew of them and their ways. They seemed fascinated by me. They like mortals."

"Kindred says the same thing."

"It is why they need a mortal for the Knight. We have free will, free choice." He sighs. "My friend eventually chose to become Sidhe, and she still visited me. I think my parents wondered if we would...would..."

"Produce Changelings?" I comment lightly.

"Yes." His cheeks are flaming. "But instead I was visiting her when the previous Knight returned from a mission. I do not know what happened to him, or what he was fighting. The Fae will not tell me. But he died in Titania's arms, and - and - she just...looked at me, and gave me the Mantle."

"You didn't get a choice?"

He's staring at the lake. "I do not think so. All I remember is her eyes and then the Summer."

"What does the Knight do?" I ask, realising that I don't know.

"Keeps the Winter Knight in check, and occasionally kills people." Warren shrugs. "The Lady Rowan does not ask that of me, but Queen Titania has." He glances over at me. "Have you killed?"

"No. Not personally. I've seen plenty, though." I'm aware that my voice is harsh, and try to lighten it. "It's a side effect of a childhood in the mafia."

"Cornetti?" the Summer Knight says with interest. "So that is how you know him."

I glare. "Information for information, Sir Knight."

He's suddenly stiff-backed, formal. "I can think of nothing to offer you, Miss Richardson. You may consider me in debt."

I relax, and see Warren do the same as he realises that I have accepted. The Sidhe are usually very good with debts, although Warren's still human enough to be a lying bastard. I don't trust Kindred further than I can throw him, and he's as Fae as Warren is. Although, on that note...

"How did you know I was here?" I ask.

His cheeks flush pink, and he looks away from me, over the lake. "I asked one of the Fae to watch out for you."

"Why?"

His cheeks are flaming now. "Because I am still human enough to miss companionship, Miss Richardson."

"Don't you have-"

"I have everything I could want, Miss Richardson. My Queen and Lady give me anything I ask for. But I miss a world that does not speak in riddles and does not strike bargains, and where I do not have to watch my back at every moment." He's staring at his hands now, tightly clasped in front of him. "And I am not free. I have free will, and I can choose to obey or disobey, but there are consequences to every decision. I have spent so long with those consequences that I have almost forgotten what it is like to freely choose." Warren turns his head and looks me in the eye for an instant before moving his gaze away. "You asked me how old I was. I do not know, exactly. But I know that at least a century has passed in your mortal world since I last lived on its face."

I'm trying to imagine living in that world. Faerie power and Summer heat at your command, but a set of obligations and loyalties that bind you tighter and tighter as the years pass..."Isn't there a way out of it?"

"Death, Miss Richardson. The Mantle has to pass back to the Queen, and then be given to the next bearer. Although I do believe that it can be accepted by a suitable recipient if there is one closer than the Queen is." Then he gives a grimace that might have been meant as a smile. "And that repays my debt, as that information is not generally known."

I incline my head. "Thank you."

"A story for a story, Miss Richardson." He manages an actual smile this time. "So, do you have everything you want?"

I shrug. "I'm as bound by loyalty and obligation as you are. The mortal world isn't as free as you think it is. There are things that I still have to do, people I have to please, or I have consequences too. No decision is free of them."

"I have heard speculation," Warren says, "that Cornetti is your lover."

I can't help but smile, and raise a cynical eyebrow at him. "Nice try."

"Why do you not answer questions on him?"

"Why should I?"

That gets the wonderful, rich laugh out of him, and he leans back against the bench and smiles at me, suddenly looking very human. "I like you, Miss Richardson. You are so different from the Fae."

"I consider that a compliment." I smile back. "And you're allowed to call me Dini. Most other people do."

He nods, and then his eyes flick across the lake. I follow his gaze, and see someone standing there: a tall, slender figure with green-blonde hair. The Lady Rowan.

Beside me, Warren stands. "I have been summoned." He turns to me and takes my hands as I stand up, feeling my legs start the tingle of pins-and-needles from sitting still too long. The Summer Knight's green eyes are briefly looking down into mine, and his hands are warm around my cold ones. "Thank you, Dini."

And then he's striding off around the lake. I sit back down, trying to massage some blood back into my legs, and watch him as he covers the distance around it. When he reaches the figure on the far side, he drops to one knee in front of her. She holds out a hand to him, and I see his head turn to my side of the lake as he stands and takes her hand -

\- and then they're both gone.


End file.
